Amesbury Archer

The Amesbury Archer is an early Bronze Age man whose grave was discovered during excavations at the site of a new housing development (grid referenceSU16324043[1]) in Amesbury near Stonehenge. The grave was uncovered in May 2002, and the man is believed to date from about 2300 BC, he is nicknamed "the Archer" because of the many arrowheads that were among the artefacts buried with him.[2] The calibrated radiocarbon dates for his grave and dating of Stonehenge suggest the sarsens and trilithons at Stonehenge may have been raised by the time he was born,[3] although a new bluestone circle may have been raised at the same time as his birth.[4]

Contents

The Archer's grave yielded the greatest number of artefacts ever found in a Bronze Age burial in Britain, among those discovered were: five funerary pots of the type associated with the Beaker culture; three tiny copper knives; sixteen barbed flint arrowheads; a kit of flint-knapping and metalworking tools, including cushion stones that functioned as a kind of portable anvil and that suggest he was a coppersmith; and some boar's tusks. On his forearm was a black stone wrist-guard. A similar red wrist-guard was by his knees, with the second wrist-guard was a shale belt ring and a pair of gold hair ornaments, the earliest gold objects ever found in England.[5]

Research using oxygenisotope analysis in the Archer's tooth enamel has suggested that he may have originated from an alpine region of central Europe. An eroded hole in his jaw showed that in life he had suffered from an abscess, and his missing left kneecap suggests that he had an injury that left him with a painful lingering bone infection.

A male skeleton found interred nearby is believed to be that of a younger man related to the Archer, as they shared a rare hereditary anomaly, calcaneonavicular coalition, fusing of the calcaneus and of the naviculartarsal (foot bones). This younger man, sometimes called the Archer’s Companion, appears to have been raised in a more local climate,[6] the Archer was estimated to be about forty at the time of his death, while his companion was in his early twenties. The graves were discovered only a short distance from the Boscombe Bowmen, whose bones were excavated the following year.

The Archer was quickly dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the British press due to the proximity of the famous monument[7] and some have even claimed he may have been involved in its construction.[8] However, this cannot be known for sure[9] and more recently archaeologists have reconsidered the idea,[4][10] his is just one high-profile burial that dates from the time of the stones' erection,[11] but given the lavish nature of the grave his mourners clearly considered him important enough to be buried near to (if not in the immediate area of) Stonehenge.[12] Tim Darvill regards the skeleton as possibly that of a pilgrim to Stonehenge to draw on the 'healing properties' of the bluestones.[13]

However his grave is of particular importance because of its connections with Continental Europe and early copper smelting technology, he is believed to have been one of the earliest metalworkers in Britain and his discovery supports interpreters who claim that the diffusion of Beaker Culture pottery was the result of population movement, rather than just the widespread adoption of an artefact 'package'.[8]

The character of Arthmael in Mark Patton's novel, Undreamed Shores,[14] is based on the archer.[15]

Amesbury
–
Amesbury /ˈeɪmzbəri/ is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish. It has been confirmed by archaeologists that it is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United Kingdom, King Alfred the Great left it in his will, a copy of which is in the British Library, to

Salisbury Museum
–
The Salisbury Museum is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology, following rebranding in 2014, its name was simplified from the previous version, Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum. The museum is housed in The Kings House, a Grade I listed building, set in the s

1.
The Salisbury Museum

Bronze Age
–
The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by sm

Ordnance Survey National Grid
–
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude. It is often called British National Grid, the Ordnance Survey devised the national grid reference system, and it is heavily used in their survey data, and in maps based on those surveys. Gr

Stonehenge
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Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England,2 miles west of Amesbury and 8 miles north of Salisbury. Stonehenges ring of standing stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding

1.
Stonehenge in August 2014

2.
Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Italicised numbers in the text refer to the labels on this plan. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured

3.
Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.

Arrowhead
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An arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. The earliest arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials, Arrowheads are important archaeological artifacts, they are a subclass of projectile points. Modern enthusiasts still produce over one million brand-new spear and

Radiocarbon
–
Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby, Carbon-14 was discovered on 27 February 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiati

1.
1: Formation of carbon-14 2: Decay of carbon-14 3: The "equal" equation is for living organisms, and the unequal one is for dead organisms, in which the C-14 then decays (See 2).

Sarsen
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This is thought to have formed during Neogene to Quaternary weathering by the silicification of Upper Paleocene Lambeth Group sediments, resulting from acid leaching. The word sarsen is a shortening of Saracen stone which arose in the Wiltshire dialect, Saracen was a common name for Muslims, and came by extension to be used for anything regarded as

1.
Sarsens in Wiltshire.

Bluestone
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It is a convenience label rather than a geological term, since at least 20 different rock types are represented. It is a medium grained dark and heavy rock, harder than granite, Preseli bluestone tools, such as axes, have been discovered elsewhere within the British Isles. Many of them appear to have made in or near Stonehenge. The bluestones at St

1.
Carn Menyn bluestones.These dolerite slabs, split by frost action, seem to be stacked ready for the taking and many have been removed over the centuries for use locally but it remains unresolved whether the Stonehenge bluestones were conveyed thence by human or glacial means.

2.
HM Prison Pentridge was one of the many buildings constructed of local bluestone in Melbourne in the 19th century

Artifact (archaeology)
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An artifact or artefact is something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, however, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is defined as, an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest. However, modern archaeologi

Beaker culture
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The term was coined by John Abercromby, based on the cultures distinctive pottery drinking beakers. The Bell Beaker period marks a period of contact in Atlantic and Western Europe on a scale not seen previously. It has been suggested that the beakers were designed for the consumption of alcohol, beer and mead content have been identified from certa

Flint-knapping
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The original Germanic term knopp meant strike, shape, or work, so it could theoretically have referred equally well to making a statue or dice. Modern usage is specific, referring almost exclusively to the hand-tool pressure-flaking process pictured. Flintknapping or knapping is done in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of the final produc

Anvil
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An anvil is a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck. The block is as massive as is practical, because the higher the inertia of the anvil, on a quality anvil the smiths hammer should rebound with almost as much energy as the smith puts into the downward stroke, ultimately making the smiths job easier and less physically strenu

4.
An anvil at the medieval construction site of Guédelon in Treigny, France.

Stone wrist-guard
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Early Bronze Age stone wrist-guards are found across Europe from around 2400-1900 BC and are closely associated with the Beaker culture and Unetice culture. The wrist-guards are small rectangles of stone with a number of perforations, one, from Hemp Knoll in Wiltshire, had markings which clearly indicate its attachment to the arm by two cords. The

1.
Replica of slate stone wrist-guard as it might have been worn.

Shale
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Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable, shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering or bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, ca

Oxygen
–
Oxygen is a chemical element with symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the group on the periodic table and is a highly reactive nonmetal. By mass, oxygen is the third-most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen, at standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless and odorless diatom

1.
Spectral lines of oxygen

3.
A trickle of liquid oxygen is deflected by a magnetic field, illustrating its paramagnetic property

4.
Oxygen discharge (spectrum) tube. The green color is similar to the color of an "aurora borealis"

Isotope analysis
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Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, the distribution of certain stable isotopes and chemical elements within chemical compounds. This can be applied to a web to make it possible to draw direct inferences regarding diet, trophic level. Variations in isotope ratios from isotopic fractionation are measured using mass spectrom

Tooth enamel
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Tooth enamel is one of the four major tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the visible part of the tooth, covering the crown. The other major tissues are dentin, cementum, and dental pulp and it is a very hard, white to off-white, highly mineralised substance that acts as a bar

1.
Labeled molar

2.
Tooth enamel

4.
Histologic slide showing a developing tooth. The mouth would be in the area of space at the top of the picture.

Salisbury
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Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England, and the only city within the county. It is the third-largest settlement in the county, after Swindon and Chippenham, with a population of 40,302, the city is located in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain. Its cathedral was located to the north at Old Sarum, following its

Ossification
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Ossification in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation, heterotopic ossification is a process resulting in the formation of bone tissue that is often atypical, at an extraskeletal location. Calcification is often confused with ossification, calcificati

1.
Primary center of ossification, or Growth Plate.

2.
Bone is broken down by osteoclasts, and rebuilt by osteoblasts, both of which communicate through cytokine (TGF-β, IGF) signalling.

Navicular
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The navicular bone /nəˈvɪkjᵿlər/ is a small bone found in the feet of most mammals. The navicular bone in humans is one of the tarsal bones and its name derives from the human bones resemblance to a small boat, caused by the strongly concave proximal articular surface. The term navicular bone or hand navicular bone was used for the scaphoid bone, o

1.
Navicular bone. Superior view.

2.
The left navicular. Antero-lateral view

Tarsus (skeleton)
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In tetrapods, the tarsus is a cluster of seven articulating bones in each foot situated between the lower end of tibia and fibula of the lower leg and the metatarsus. The tarsus articulates with the bones of the metatarsus, which in turn articulate with the phalanges of the toes. The joint between the tibia and fibula above and the tarsus below is

Stonehenge Archer
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The Stonehenge Archer is the name given to a Bronze Age man whose body was discovered in the outer ditch of Stonehenge. Unlike most burials in the Stonehenge Landscape, his body was not in a barrow, examination of the skeleton indicated that the man was local to the area and aged about 30 when he died. Radiocarbon dating suggests that he died aroun

1.
Displayed in the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum

International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning

1.
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code

English Heritage
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English Heritage is a registered charity that manages the National Heritage Collection. This comprises over 400 of Englands historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning more than 5,000 years of history, within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrians Wall. English Heritage also manages

1.
English Heritage commemorative plaques conference, 2010. English Heritage began administering the London Blue Plaques in 1986.

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Stonehenge visitors' centre. Opened in December 2013, over 2 km west of the monument, just off the A360 road in Wiltshire.

Julian Richards
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Julian Richards FSA, MIFA is a British television and radio presenter, writer and archaeologist with over 30 years experience of fieldwork and publication. Richards was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, between 1975 and 1980, he worked for the Berkshire Archaeological Unit, helping to build the county Sites and Monuments Record. He excavated and

1.
Julian Richards in 2002

Time Team
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Time Team is a British television series that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. The specialists changed throughout the series, although it consistently included professional archaeologists such as Mick Aston, Carenza Lewis, Francis Pryor, the sites excavated ranged in date from the Palaeolithic to the Second Wo

Channel 4
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Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2 November 1982. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital on 31 March 2010, before Channel 4 and S4C, Britain had three terrestrial television services, BBC1, BBC2, and ITV. The Broadcasting Act 1980 began the process of adding a f

1.
Channel 4

LIST OF IMAGES

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Amesbury
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Amesbury /ˈeɪmzbəri/ is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish. It has been confirmed by archaeologists that it is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the United Kingdom, King Alfred the Great left it in his will, a copy of which is in the British Library, to his youngest son Aethelweard. Eleanor of Provence, queen of England, died in Amesbury on 24 or 25 June 1291, the parish includes the hamlets of Ratfyn and West Amesbury, and most of Boscombe Down military airfield. Amesbury is located in southern Wiltshire,7 miles north of Salisbury on the A345 and it sits in the River Avon valley on the southern fringes of Salisbury Plain and has historically been considered an important river crossing area on the road from London to Warminster and Exeter. This has continued into the present with the building of the A303 across the Avon next to the town, the nearest railway station is located at nearby Grateley, on the London to Salisbury line. The land around Amesbury has been settled since prehistoric times, evidenced by the monument of Stonehenge and they are now on display at Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum. Amesbury is recognized as the oldest continuously occupied UK settlement, during the Iron Age a large hill fort now known as Vespasians Camp was built alongside the Avenue and overlooking the River Avon. The fort could easily have catered for up to 1000 people and it is likely that there was a large Romano-British settlement overlooking the River Avon at this point. It has been suggested that the name of Amesbury is derived from Ambrosius Aurelianus, if this is the case he is likely to have used the hill fort as a stronghold. It is possible that an order of monks established a monastery in the area that was destroyed by the Saxons before they settled the area in the 7th century. Amesbury is also associated with the Arthurian legend, the convent to which Guinevere retired was said to have been the one at Amesbury. In 979 AD a Benedictine abbey, the Abbey of St Mary, in 1177 the abbey was dissolved by Henry II and replaced with a double priory of the Fontevrault order. Eleanor of Provence was buried in the abbey on 11 September 1291, Amesbury became an estate and was given to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford by the crown. On John Speeds map of Wiltshire, the name is spelt both Amesbury and Ambersbury. The Seymour family held Amesbury estate until 1675 and had several homes built, including Kent and Diana houses. The estate subsequently passed to the Bruce family, and then to Lord Carleton and it remained in the Queensberry family until 1824. The mansion remained in their hands until 1979, by a decree in Chancery of 1831, the freedom of the grammar school was extended to children of mechanics, artisans, and small tradesmen

2.
Salisbury Museum
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The Salisbury Museum is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology, following rebranding in 2014, its name was simplified from the previous version, Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum. The museum is housed in The Kings House, a Grade I listed building, set in the surroundings of the Cathedral Close, the museum faces the west front of Salisbury Cathedral. Previously based at No 40-42, St Ann Street, where it had founded in 1860 by Dr Richard Fowler, FRS. The arms of James Is eldest son, Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the Director of the museum is Adrian Green. Popular summer exhibitions since 2011 have featured artists who share a connection with the locality. In 2011, the exhibition was Constable and Salisbury. From May–September 2013, Rex Whistler, A Talent Cut Short was the temporary exhibition, Whistler came to prominence between the World Wars. Whistler also produced mural cycles, including one at Tate Britain, stage designs and book illustrations, as well as portraits and he was killed on his first day of action as a soldier in Normandy in 1944. The temporary summer exhibition for 2015 was Turners Wessex, Architecture and it featured a collection of brilliant watercolours made by JMW Turner as a very young man in the Salisbury area, and was curated by Ian Warrell. A £350,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund was awarded in August 2013, the Salisbury Museum hopes to purchase the archive, which contains over 1,000 items and is the only substantial collection of material relating to the artist. On 10 September 2012, a 90 kg meteorite, possibly the biggest to have fallen on the British Isles. For at least 80 years it sat near the front door of Lake House at Wilsford-cum-Lake near Salisbury, when the house was sold, the stone was confirmed as a meteorite by the Natural History Museum where it remained in storage for many years. The meteorite from Lake House was retrieved from storage and although the two objects were found to be unrelated, Professor Pillinger continued with his study of the larger meteorite. The meteorite landed on earth some 30,000 years ago and was preserved by the frozen conditions during the last ice age. In normal circumstances the meteorite would have disintegrated, but the cold, thousands of years later, in the Stone or Bronze Age, it is thought that the meteorite was built into a burial mound close to Lake House. The local chalk environment would again have helped to preserve it, the meteorite may have been unearthed in the 19th century by Edward Duke, a previous owner of Lake House who was an antiquarian who excavated burial mounds nearby and had his own private museum. Photographic evidence shows it on the doorstep of Lake House at the time the property was owned by the brewer Joseph Lovibond, Mayor of Salisbury in 1878-79 and 1890-91

Salisbury Museum
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The Salisbury Museum

3.
Bronze Age
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The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Copper-tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC. Worldwide, the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition, although the Iron Age generally followed the Bronze Age, in some areas, the Iron Age intruded directly on the Neolithic. Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing, according to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed the earliest viable writing systems. The overall period is characterized by use of bronze, though the place and time of the introduction. Human-made tin bronze technology requires set production techniques, tin must be mined and smelted separately, then added to molten copper to make bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of use of metals. The dating of the foil has been disputed, the Bronze Age in the ancient Near East began with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy and mathematics, the usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used. Instead, a division based on art-historical and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people, ur in the Middle Bronze Age and Babylon in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations. The earliest mention of Babylonia appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC, the Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over 100 years later, it took over the other city-states. Babylonia adopted the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use, by that time, the Sumerian language was no longer spoken, but was still in religious use. Elam was an ancient civilization located to the east of Mesopotamia, in the Old Elamite period, Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a role in the Gutian Empire and especially during the Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it

4.
Ordnance Survey National Grid
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The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude. It is often called British National Grid, the Ordnance Survey devised the national grid reference system, and it is heavily used in their survey data, and in maps based on those surveys. Grid references are commonly quoted in other publications and data sources. The Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system is used to provide references for worldwide locations. European-wide agencies also use UTM when mapping locations, or may use the Military Grid Reference System system, the grid is based on the OSGB36 datum, and was introduced after the retriangulation of 1936–1962. It replaced the previously used Cassini Grid which, up to the end of World War Two, had issued only to the military. The Airy ellipsoid is a regional best fit for Britain, more modern mapping tends to use the GRS80 ellipsoid used by the GPS, the British maps adopt a Transverse Mercator projection with an origin at 49° N, 2° W. Over the Airy ellipsoid a straight grid, the National Grid, is placed with a new false origin. This false origin is located south-west of the Isles of Scilly, the distortion created between the OS grid and the projection is countered by a scale factor in the longitude to create two lines of longitude with zero distortion rather than one. Grid north and true north are aligned on the 400 km easting of the grid which is 2° W. 2° 0′ 5″ W. OSGB36 was also used by Admiralty nautical charts until 2000 after which WGS84 has been used, a geodetic transformation between OSGB36 and other terrestrial reference systems can become quite tedious if attempted manually. The most common transformation is called the Helmert datum transformation, which results in a typical 7 m error from true, the definitive transformation from ETRS89 that is published by the OSGB is called the National Grid Transformation OSTN02. This models the detailed distortions in the 1936–1962 retriangulation, and achieves backwards compatibility in grid coordinates to sub-metre accuracy, the difference between the coordinates on different datums varies from place to place. The longitude and latitude positions on OSGB36 are the same as for WGS84 at a point in the Atlantic Ocean well to the west of Great Britain. In Cornwall, the WGS84 longitude lines are about 70 metres east of their OSGB36 equivalents, the smallest datum shift is on the west coast of Scotland and the greatest in Kent. But Great Britain has not shrunk by 100+ metres, a point near Lands End now computes to be 27.6 metres closer to a point near Duncansby Head than it did under OSGB36. For the first letter, the grid is divided into squares of size 500 km by 500 km, there are four of these which contain significant land area within Great Britain, S, T, N and H. The O square contains an area of North Yorkshire, almost all of which lies below mean high tide

5.
Stonehenge
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Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England,2 miles west of Amesbury and 8 miles north of Salisbury. Stonehenges ring of standing stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC, one of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon. It has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain, the site and its surroundings were added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, William Stukeley in 1740 notes, Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire. I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones. Like Stonehenges trilithons, medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, rather than the inverted L-shape more familiar today, the henge portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian use, Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscapes time frame to 6500 years. The modern phasing most generally agreed to by archaeologists is detailed below, features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right. Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes and these held pine posts around 0.75 metres in diameter, which were erected and eventually rotted in situ. Three of the posts were in an east-west alignment which may have had significance, no parallels are known from Britain at the time. A settlement that may have been contemporaneous with the posts has been found at Blick Mead, a reliable year round spring 1 mile from Stonehenge. Salisbury Plain was then still wooded but 4,000 years later, during the earlier Neolithic, people built an enclosure at Robin Hoods Ball. In approximately 3500 BC, a Stonehenge Cursus was built 700 metres north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the trees, a number of other adjacent stone and wooden structures and burial mounds, previously overlooked, may date as far back as 4000 BC. Charcoal from the ‘Blick Mead’ camp 2.4 kilometres from Stonehenge has been dated to 4000 BC and it stood in open grassland on a slightly sloping spot

Stonehenge
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Stonehenge in August 2014
Stonehenge
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Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Italicised numbers in the text refer to the labels on this plan. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured
Stonehenge
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Stonehenge 1. After Cleal et al.

6.
Arrowhead
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An arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. The earliest arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials, Arrowheads are important archaeological artifacts, they are a subclass of projectile points. Modern enthusiasts still produce over one million brand-new spear and arrow points per year, in the Stone Age, people used sharpened bone, flintknapped stones, flakes, and chips of rock as weapons and tools. Such items remained in use throughout human civilization, with new materials used as time passed, such artifacts can be found all over the world in various locations. Those that have survived are usually made of stone, primarily consisting of flint, in many excavations, bone, wooden and metal arrowheads have also been found. Stone projectile points dating back 64,000 years were excavated from layers of ancient sediment in Sibudu Cave, examinations found traces of blood and bone residues, and glue made from a plant-based resin that was used to fasten them on to a wooden shaft. This indicated cognitively demanding behavior required to manufacture glue and these hafted points might have been launched from bows. This is an argument for the use of traps, perhaps including snares, if snares were used, the use of cords and knots which would also have been adequate for the production of bows is implied. The employment of snares also demonstrates an understanding of the latent energy stored in bent branches. Cords and knots are implied by use-wear facets on perforated shell beads around 72,000 years old from Blombos, archeologists in Louisiana have discovered that early Native Americans used Alligator gar scales as arrow heads. Hunting with a bow and arrow requires intricate multi-staged planning, material collection and tool preparation and implies a range of innovative social and communication skills. Arrowheads are attached to shafts to be shot from a bow, similar types of projectile points may be attached to a spear. The arrowhead or projectile point is the functional part of the arrow. Some arrows may simply use a tip of the solid shaft. Arrowheads may be attached to the shaft with a cap, a tang, or inserted into a split in the shaft. Points attached with caps are simply slid snugly over the end of the shaft, split-shaft construction involves splitting the arrow shaft lengthwise, inserting the arrowhead, and securing it using ferrule, sinew, rope, or wire. Modern arrowheads used for hunting come in a variety of classes and styles, many traditionalist archers choose heads made of modern high carbon steel that closely resemble traditional stone heads. Other classes of broadheads referred to as mechanical and hybrid are gaining popularity, often, these heads rely on force created by passing through an animal to expand or open

7.
Radiocarbon
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Carbon-14, 14C, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby, Carbon-14 was discovered on 27 February 1940, by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Its existence had been suggested by Franz Kurie in 1934, carbon-12 and carbon-13 are both stable, while the half-life of carbon-14 is 5, 730±40 years. Carbon-14 decays into nitrogen-14 through beta decay, a gram of carbon containing 1 atom of carbon-14 per 1012 atoms will emit 0.40 beta particles per second. The primary natural source of carbon-14 on Earth is cosmic ray action on nitrogen in the atmosphere, however, open-air nuclear testing between 1955–1980 contributed to this pool. The different isotopes of carbon do not differ appreciably in their chemical properties, the emitted beta particles have a maximum energy of 156 keV, while their weighted mean energy is 49 keV. These are relatively low energies, the distance traveled is estimated to be 22 cm in air and 0.27 mm in body tissue. The fraction of the radiation transmitted through the dead layer is estimated to be 0.11. Liquid scintillation counting is the preferred method, the G-M counting efficiency is estimated to be 3%. The half-distance layer in water is 0.05 mm. Radiocarbon dating is a dating method that uses to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 60,000 years old. The technique was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues in 1949 during his tenure as a professor at the University of Chicago, in 1960, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work. One of the frequent uses of the technique is to date organic remains from archaeological sites, plants fix atmospheric carbon during photosynthesis, so the level of 14C in plants and animals when they die approximately equals the level of 14C in the atmosphere at that time. However, it decreases thereafter from radioactive decay, allowing the date of death or fixation to be estimated. A calculation or a comparison of carbon-14 levels in a sample, with tree ring or cave-deposit carbon-14 levels of a known age. Carbon-14 is produced in the layers of the troposphere and the stratosphere by thermal neutrons absorbed by nitrogen atoms. When cosmic rays enter the atmosphere, they undergo various transformations, the resulting neutrons participate in the following reaction, n +14 7N →14 6C + p The highest rate of carbon-14 production takes place at altitudes of 9 to 15 km and at high geomagnetic latitudes. Production rates vary because of changes to the cosmic ray flux caused by the heliospheric modulation, the latter can create significant variations in 14C production rates, although the changes of the carbon cycle can make these effects difficult to tease out. Another extraordinarily large 14C increase has been associated with the 5480 BC event

Radiocarbon
–
1: Formation of carbon-14 2: Decay of carbon-14 3: The "equal" equation is for living organisms, and the unequal one is for dead organisms, in which the C-14 then decays (See 2).

8.
Sarsen
–
This is thought to have formed during Neogene to Quaternary weathering by the silicification of Upper Paleocene Lambeth Group sediments, resulting from acid leaching. The word sarsen is a shortening of Saracen stone which arose in the Wiltshire dialect, Saracen was a common name for Muslims, and came by extension to be used for anything regarded as non-Christian, whether Muslim, pagan Celtic, or other. The builders of Stonehenge used these stones for the heelstone and sarsen circle uprights, Avebury and many other megalithic monuments in southern England are also built with sarsen stones. Fire and in later times explosives were employed to break the stone into pieces of a suitable size for use in construction. Sarsen is not a building material, however. William Stukeley wrote that sarsen is always moist and dewy in winter which proves damp and unwholesome, in the case of Avebury, the investors who backed a scheme to recycle the stone were bankrupted when the houses they built proved to be unsaleable and also prone to burning down. However, despite these problems, sarsen remained highly prized for its durability, being a material for steps. Hertfordshire puddingstone Blowing Stone Fyfield Down Coronation Stone Ashdown House, Oxfordshire Photo of Sarsens on Fyfield Down, Wiltshire King, Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. Media related to Sarsen stones at Wikimedia Commons

Sarsen
–
Sarsens in Wiltshire.

9.
Bluestone
–
It is a convenience label rather than a geological term, since at least 20 different rock types are represented. It is a medium grained dark and heavy rock, harder than granite, Preseli bluestone tools, such as axes, have been discovered elsewhere within the British Isles. Many of them appear to have made in or near Stonehenge. The bluestones at Stonehenge were placed there during the phase of construction at Stonehenge around 2300 BC. It is assumed there were about 80 of them originally. The stones are estimated to weigh between 2 and 4 tons each, the majority of them are believed to have been brought from the Preseli Hills, about 250 kilometres away in Wales, either through glaciation or through humans organizing their transportation. If a glacier transported the stones, then it must have been the Irish Sea Glacier, in such event, one might expect to find other bluestones near the Stonehenge site, but no such bluestones have been found. The archaeological find of the Boscombe Bowmen has been cited in support of the human transport theory, a summary of the major aspects of the Stonehenge bluestone conundrum was published in 2008. Further research into the origin of the bluestones was published in 2012, there are two distinct building materials called bluestone in Australia. In Victoria, what is known as bluestone is a basalt or olivine basalt and it was one of the favoured building materials during the Victorian Gold Rush period of the 1850s. It is still quarried at a number of places around the state, Bluestone is very hard and therefore difficult to work, so it was predominantly used for warehouses, miscellaneous walls, and the foundations of buildings. Some examples of major structures that use bluestone include Princes Bridge, the adjacent Federation Wharf. Because of its qualities, post-modern Melbourne buildings have also made use of bluestone for nostalgic reasons. These include the Southgate complex and promenade in Southbank, Victoria, Bluestone was also used extensively as cobblestone, and for kerbs and gutters, many examples which still exist in some of Melbournes smaller city lanes and 19th Century inner suburban lanes. In South Australia, the bluestone is given to a form of slate which is much less durable than Victorian bluestone. The interior of the stone is usually grey or beige in colour. The slate is laid in masonry with the surfaces exposed. Bluestone was most popular from about the 1850s to the 1920s, quarried in the Adelaide Hills at Dry Creek, OHalloran Hill and Glen Osmond, Timaru bluestone is an attractive building material, used both historically and to the present

Bluestone
–
Carn Menyn bluestones.These dolerite slabs, split by frost action, seem to be stacked ready for the taking and many have been removed over the centuries for use locally but it remains unresolved whether the Stonehenge bluestones were conveyed thence by human or glacial means.
Bluestone
–
HM Prison Pentridge was one of the many buildings constructed of local bluestone in Melbourne in the 19th century
Bluestone
–
Typical colouring caused by mineralisation in Adelaide bluestone.
Bluestone
–
Dunedin Railway Station (centre) and Law Courts (right), showing dark bluestone and creamy Oamaru stone construction.

10.
Artifact (archaeology)
–
An artifact or artefact is something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, however, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is defined as, an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest. However, modern archaeologists take care to distinguish material culture from ethnicity, examples include stone tools, pottery vessels, metal objects such as weapons, and items of personal adornment such as buttons, jewelry and clothing. Bones that show signs of modification are also examples. Natural objects, such as fire cracked rocks from a hearth or plant material used for food, are classified by archeologists as ecofacts rather than as artifacts, natural objects that humans have moved but not changed are called manuports. Examples include seashells moved inland, or rounded pebbles placed away from the action that made them. For instance, a bone removed from a carcass is a biofact. Similarly there can be debate over early stone objects that could be either crude artifacts or naturally occurring and it can be difficult to distinguish the differences between actual man-made lithic artifacts and geofacts – naturally occurring lithics that resemble man-made tools. It is possible to authenticate artifacts by examining the general attributed to man-made tools. Artifact Collection at the Royal Military College of Canada Museum in Kingston, Ontario

Artifact (archaeology)
–
Mycenaean stirrup vase found in the acropolis of Ras Shamra (Ugarit), 1400-1300 BC
Artifact (archaeology)
–
Archaeological artifact from the work developed in the area of Citânia de Briteiros, Portugal

11.
Beaker culture
–
The term was coined by John Abercromby, based on the cultures distinctive pottery drinking beakers. The Bell Beaker period marks a period of contact in Atlantic and Western Europe on a scale not seen previously. It has been suggested that the beakers were designed for the consumption of alcohol, beer and mead content have been identified from certain examples. However, not all Beakers were drinking cups, some were used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores, others have some organic residues associated with food, and still others were employed as funerary urns. They were used as status display amongst disparate elites, there have been numerous proposals by archaeologists as to the origins of the Bell Beaker culture, and debates continued on for decades. Several regions of origin have been postulated, notably the Iberian peninsula, similarly, scholars have postulated various mechanisms of spread, including migrations of populations, smaller warrior groups, individuals, or a diffusion of ideas and object exchange. Recent analyses have made significant inroads to understanding the Beaker phenomenon and they have concluded that the Bell Beaker phenomenon was a synthesis of elements, representing “an idea and style uniting different regions with different cultural traditions and background. An overview of all sources from southern Germany concluded that Bell Beaker was a new and independent culture in that area. The inspiration for the Maritime Bell Beaker is argued to have been the small and earlier Copoz beakers that have impressed decoration and which are found widely around the Tagus estuary in Portugal. Turek sees late Neolithic precursors in northern Africa, arguing the Maritime style emerged as a result of contacts between Iberia and Morocco in the first half of the third millennium BC. AOO and AOC Beakers appear to have evolved continually from a period in the lower Rhine and North Sea regions, at least for Northern. Furthermore, the ritual which typified Bell Beaker sites was intrusive into Western Europe. Such an arrangement is rather derivative of Corded Ware traditions although, instead of battle-axes, the initial moves from the Tagus estuary were maritime. A northern move incorporated the southern coast of Armorica, the enclave established in southern Brittany was linked closely to the riverine and landward route, via the Loire, and across the Gâtinais valley to the Seine valley, and thence to the lower Rhine. This was a long-established route reflected in early stone axe distributions, another pulse had brought Bell Beaker to Csepel Island in Hungary by about 2500 BC. But in contrast to the early Bell Beaker preference for the dagger and bow, here Bell Beaker people assimilated local pottery forms such as the polypod cup. These common ware types of pottery then spread in association with the bell beaker. From the Carpathian Basin Bell Beaker spread down the Rhine and eastwards into what is now Germany, by this time the Rhine was on the western edge of the vast Corded Ware zone

12.
Flint-knapping
–
The original Germanic term knopp meant strike, shape, or work, so it could theoretically have referred equally well to making a statue or dice. Modern usage is specific, referring almost exclusively to the hand-tool pressure-flaking process pictured. Flintknapping or knapping is done in a variety of ways depending on the purpose of the final product, for stone tools and flintlock strikers, chert is worked using a fabricator such as a hammerstone to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone. Stone tools can then be refined using wood, bone. For building work a hammer or pick is used to split chert nodules supported on the lap, often the chert nodule will be split in half to create two cherts with a flat circular face for use in walls constructed of lime. More sophisticated knapping is employed to produce almost perfect cubes which are used as bricks, there are many different methods of shaping stone into useful tools. Early knappers could have used hammers made of wood or antler to shape stone tools. The factors that contribute to the results are varied, but the EPA indeed influences many attributes, such as length, thickness. Hard hammer techniques are used to remove large flakes of stone, early knappers and hobbyists replicating their methods often use cobbles of very hard stone, such as quartzite. This technique can be used by flintknappers to remove broad flakes that can be made into smaller tools and this method of manufacture is believed to have been used to make some of the earliest stone tools ever found, some of which date from over 2 million years ago. Soft hammer techniques are more precise than hard hammer methods of shaping stone, soft hammer techniques allow a knapper to shape a stone into many different kinds of cutting, scraping, and projectile tools. These soft hammer techniques also produce longer, thinner flakes, potentially allowing for material conservation or a lighter lithic tool kit to be carried by mobile societies, pressure flaking involves removing narrow flakes along the edge of a stone tool. This technique is used to do detailed thinning and shaping of a stone tool. Pressure flaking involves putting an amount of force across a region on the edge of the tool. The major advantage of using soft metals rather than wood or bone is that the metal punches wear down less and are likely to break under pressure. Archaeologists usually undertake the task so that they can understand how prehistoric stone tools were made. Knapping is often learned by outdoorsmen, such as British bushcraft exponent Ray Mears, knapping gun flints, used by flintlock firearms was formerly a major industry in flint bearing locations, such as Brandon in Suffolk, England and the small towns of Meusnes and Couffy in France. Meusnes has a museum dedicated to the industry

13.
Anvil
–
An anvil is a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck. The block is as massive as is practical, because the higher the inertia of the anvil, on a quality anvil the smiths hammer should rebound with almost as much energy as the smith puts into the downward stroke, ultimately making the smiths job easier and less physically strenuous. In most cases the anvil is used as a forging tool, before the advent of modern welding technology, it was a primary tool of metal workers. The great majority of modern anvils are made of cast or forged steel that has been heat treated, inexpensive anvils have been made of cast iron and low quality steel, but are considered unsuitable for serious use as they deform and lack rebound when struck. Because anvils are very ancient tools and were at one time very commonplace, the primary work surface of the anvil is known as the face. It is generally made of hardened steel and should be flat, any marks on the face will be transferred to the work. Also, sharp edges tend to cut into the metal being worked, the face is hardened and tempered to resist the blows of the smiths hammer, so the anvil face does not deform under repeated use. A hard anvil face also reduces the amount of force lost in each hammer blow. Hammers, tools, and work pieces of hardened steel should never directly strike the face with full force, as they may damage it. The horn of the anvil is a conical projection used to form various shapes and is generally unhardened steel or iron. The horn is used mostly in bending operations and it also is used by some smiths as an aid in drawing down stock. Some anvils, mainly European, are made with two horns, one square and one round, also, some anvils are made with side horns or clips for specialized work. The step is that area of the anvil between the horn and the face, the hardie hole is a square hole into which specialized forming and cutting tools, called Hardy tools, are placed. It is also used in punching and bending operations, the pritchel hole is a small round hole that is present on most modern anvils. Some anvils have more than one and it is used mostly for punching. At times, smiths will fit a second tool to this hole to allow the more flexibility when using more than one anvil tool. An anvil needs to be placed upon a base made from an impact. It requires being fastened firmly to the base, so it not move when struck with a hammer

14.
Stone wrist-guard
–
Early Bronze Age stone wrist-guards are found across Europe from around 2400-1900 BC and are closely associated with the Beaker culture and Unetice culture. The wrist-guards are small rectangles of stone with a number of perforations, one, from Hemp Knoll in Wiltshire, had markings which clearly indicate its attachment to the arm by two cords. The shapes of the wrist-guard are stereotyped and common forms exhibit a narrowed waist, stone wrist-guards are exclusively found in the graves of males, often lying next to the corpses wrist. Rare examples - three in Great Britain - use rare imported greenstone and are decorated with gold-capped rivets or foil, the three British examples are from burials at Driffield, Barnack and Culduthel Mains in Scotland. It was originally thought that these stone wrist-guards were bracers, used by archers to protect their bow arms from the string of the bow and they are usually found on the outside of the arm where they would have been more conspicuous. When the objects occur in barrows, they occur in the central primary grave. Many show great skill in polishing and stone working, and few are found in areas from which their stone originates and it seems likely that, as found in graves, these objects were used as symbols of status within family groups. They may have been symbols of prowess in hunting or war. However, one at least had pressed foil caps in each of its 18 holes and these caps would have prohibited any form of rivet or cord being used as a means of attachment. A few prehistoric wrist-guards made of gold or amber have also been found, famous burials containing stone wrist-guards include the Amesbury Archer and Barnack Burial. The wrist-guards are commonly classified following either the 1970 Atkinson classification or the 2006 Smith classification, of the two it is the 2006 Smith classification which is less rigid and more descriptive

Stone wrist-guard
–
Replica of slate stone wrist-guard as it might have been worn.

15.
Shale
–
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable, shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering or bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, called fissility. Mudstones, on the hand, are similar in composition. Before the mid 19th century, the slate, shale. In the context of underground mining, shale was frequently referred to as slate well into the 20th century. Non-fissile rocks of similar composition but made of smaller than 0.06 mm are described as mudstones or claystone. Rocks with similar sizes but with less clay and therefore grittier are siltstones. Shale is the most common sedimentary rock, shales are typically composed of variable amounts of clay minerals and quartz grains and the typical color is gray. Addition of variable amounts of minor constituents alters the color of the rock, black shale results from the presence of greater than one percent carbonaceous material and indicates a reducing environment. Black shale can also be referred to as black metal, red, brown and green colors are indicative of ferric oxide, iron hydroxide, or micaceous minerals. Clays are the constituent of shales and other mudrocks. The clay minerals represented are largely kaolinite, montmorillonite and illite, clay minerals of Late Tertiary mudstones are expandable smectites whereas in older rocks especially in mid- to early Paleozoic shales illites predominate. The transformation of smectite to illite produces silica, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and these released elements form authigenic quartz, chert, calcite, dolomite, ankerite, hematite and albite, all trace to minor minerals found in shales and other mudrocks. Shales and mudrocks contain roughly 95 percent of the matter in all sedimentary rocks. However, this amounts to less than one percent by mass in an average shale, black shales, which form in anoxic conditions, contain reduced free carbon along with ferrous iron and sulfur. Pyrite and amorphous iron sulfide along with carbon produce the black coloration, the process in the rock cycle which forms shale is called compaction. The fine particles that compose shale can remain suspended in long after the larger particles of sand have deposited. Shales are typically deposited in very slow moving water and are found in lakes and lagoonal deposits, in river deltas, on floodplains

16.
Oxygen
–
Oxygen is a chemical element with symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the group on the periodic table and is a highly reactive nonmetal. By mass, oxygen is the third-most abundant element in the universe, after hydrogen, at standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless and odorless diatomic gas with the formula O2. This is an important part of the atmosphere and diatomic oxygen gas constitutes 20. 8% of the Earths atmosphere, additionally, as oxides the element makes up almost half of the Earths crust. Most of the mass of living organisms is oxygen as a component of water, conversely, oxygen is continuously replenished by photosynthesis, which uses the energy of sunlight to produce oxygen from water and carbon dioxide. Oxygen is too reactive to remain a free element in air without being continuously replenished by the photosynthetic action of living organisms. Another form of oxygen, ozone, strongly absorbs ultraviolet UVB radiation, but ozone is a pollutant near the surface where it is a by-product of smog. At low earth orbit altitudes, sufficient atomic oxygen is present to cause corrosion of spacecraft, the name oxygen was coined in 1777 by Antoine Lavoisier, whose experiments with oxygen helped to discredit the then-popular phlogiston theory of combustion and corrosion. One of the first known experiments on the relationship between combustion and air was conducted by the 2nd century BCE Greek writer on mechanics, Philo of Byzantium. In his work Pneumatica, Philo observed that inverting a vessel over a burning candle, Philo incorrectly surmised that parts of the air in the vessel were converted into the classical element fire and thus were able to escape through pores in the glass. Many centuries later Leonardo da Vinci built on Philos work by observing that a portion of air is consumed during combustion and respiration, Oxygen was discovered by the Polish alchemist Sendivogius, who considered it the philosophers stone. In the late 17th century, Robert Boyle proved that air is necessary for combustion, English chemist John Mayow refined this work by showing that fire requires only a part of air that he called spiritus nitroaereus. From this he surmised that nitroaereus is consumed in both respiration and combustion, Mayow observed that antimony increased in weight when heated, and inferred that the nitroaereus must have combined with it. Accounts of these and other experiments and ideas were published in 1668 in his work Tractatus duo in the tract De respiratione. Robert Hooke, Ole Borch, Mikhail Lomonosov, and Pierre Bayen all produced oxygen in experiments in the 17th and the 18th century but none of them recognized it as a chemical element. This may have been in part due to the prevalence of the philosophy of combustion and corrosion called the phlogiston theory, which was then the favored explanation of those processes. Established in 1667 by the German alchemist J. J. Becher, one part, called phlogiston, was given off when the substance containing it was burned, while the dephlogisticated part was thought to be its true form, or calx. The fact that a substance like wood gains overall weight in burning was hidden by the buoyancy of the combustion products

Oxygen
–
Spectral lines of oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen
–
A trickle of liquid oxygen is deflected by a magnetic field, illustrating its paramagnetic property
Oxygen
–
Oxygen discharge (spectrum) tube. The green color is similar to the color of an "aurora borealis"

17.
Isotope analysis
–
Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, the distribution of certain stable isotopes and chemical elements within chemical compounds. This can be applied to a web to make it possible to draw direct inferences regarding diet, trophic level. Variations in isotope ratios from isotopic fractionation are measured using mass spectrometry, the ratios of isotopic oxygen are also differentially affected by global weather patterns and regional topography as moisture is transported. Areas of lower humidity cause the loss of 18O water in the form of vapor. Furthermore, evaporated 16O water returns preferentially to the system as it evaporates and 18O remains in liquid form or is incorporated into the body water of plants. Isotopic oxygen is incorporated into the body primarily through ingestion at which point it is used in the formation of, for archaeological purposes, bones, the oxygen is incorporated into the hydroxylcarbonic apatite of bone and tooth enamel. Bone is continually remodelled throughout the lifetime of an individual, although the rate of turnover of isotopic oxygen in hydroxyapatite is not fully known, it is assumed to be similar to that of collagen, approximately 10 years. Consequently, should an individual remain in a region for 10 years or longer, teeth are not subject to continual remodelling and so their isotopic oxygen ratios remain constant from the time of formation. The isotopic oxygen ratios, then, of teeth represent the ratios of the region in which the individual was born, where deciduous teeth are present, it is also possible to determine the age at which a child was weaned. Breast milk production draws upon the water of the mother, which has higher levels of 18O due to the preferential loss of 16O through sweat, urine. While teeth are resistant to chemical and physical changes over time. As such, isotopic analysis makes use of the more resistant phosphate groups, Isotope analysis has widespread applicability in the natural sciences. These include numerous applications in the biological, earth and environmental sciences, tissue remains recovered from archaeological sites can be analysed isotopically. Carbon and nitrogen isotope composition are used to diet, and oxygen isotopes are used to determine geographic origin. Strontium and lead isotopes can be used to understand population movements, like migration and it is common to combine elements in isotopic analysis in archaeology to reconstruct diet, change in water source, migration, and cultural interaction. Carbon isotopes enter the food chain as herbivores consume plants, examining the 12C/13C isotope ratio, it is possible to determine whether animals ate predominantly C3 or C4 plants. Potential C3 food sources include rice, tubers, fruits, nuts and many vegetables, while C4 food sources include millet and this process ends with the organisms death, from this point on isotopes no longer accumulate in the body, but do undergo degradation. For best result the researcher would need to know the original levels, to obtain an accurate picture of palaeodiets, it is important to understand processes of diagenesis that may affect the original isotopic signal

18.
Tooth enamel
–
Tooth enamel is one of the four major tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the visible part of the tooth, covering the crown. The other major tissues are dentin, cementum, and dental pulp and it is a very hard, white to off-white, highly mineralised substance that acts as a barrier to protect the tooth but can become susceptible to degradation, especially by acids from food and drink. Enamel is the hardest substance in the body and contains the highest percentage of minerals, 96%, with water. The primary mineral is hydroxyapatite, which is a calcium phosphate. Enamel is formed on the tooth while the tooth is developing within the gum, once fully formed, it does not contain blood vessels or nerves. Remineralisation of teeth can repair damage to the tooth to a certain degree, the maintenance and repair of human tooth enamel is one of the primary concerns of dentistry. In humans, enamel varies in thickness over the surface of the tooth, often thickest at the cusp, up to 2.5 mm, the normal color of enamel varies from light yellow to grayish white. At the edges of teeth where there is no dentin underlying the enamel, since enamel is semitranslucent, the color of dentin and any material underneath the enamel strongly affects the appearance of a tooth. The enamel on primary teeth has a more crystalline form. The large amount of mineral in enamel accounts not only for its strength, Tooth enamel ranks 5 on Mohs hardness scale and has a Youngs modulus of 83 GPa. Dentin, less mineralized and less brittle, 3–4 in hardness, Enamel does not contain collagen, as found in other hard tissues such as dentin and bone, but it does contain two unique classes of proteins, amelogenins and enamelins. While the role of proteins is not fully understood, it is believed that they aid in the development of enamel by serving as a framework for minerals to form on. Once it is mature, enamel is almost totally without the softer organic matter, Enamel is avascular and has no nerve supply within it and is not renewed, however, it is not a static tissue as it can undergo mineralization changes. The basic unit of enamel is called an enamel rod, measuring 4–8 μm in diameter, an enamel rod, formally called an enamel prism, is a tightly packed mass of hydroxyapatite crystals in an organized pattern. In cross section, it is best compared to a keyhole, with the top, or head, oriented toward the crown of the tooth, the arrangement of the crystals within each enamel rod is highly complex. Both ameloblasts and Tomes processes affect the crystals pattern, Enamel crystals in the head of the enamel rod are oriented parallel to the long axis of the rod. When found in the tail of the rod, the crystals orientation diverges slightly from the long axis

Tooth enamel
–
Labeled molar
Tooth enamel
–
Tooth enamel
Tooth enamel
Tooth enamel
–
Histologic slide showing a developing tooth. The mouth would be in the area of space at the top of the picture.

19.
Salisbury
–
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England, and the only city within the county. It is the third-largest settlement in the county, after Swindon and Chippenham, with a population of 40,302, the city is located in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain. Its cathedral was located to the north at Old Sarum, following its relocation. The new town received its city charter in 1227 under the name New Sarum, which continued to be its name until 2009. It sits at the confluence of five rivers, the Nadder, Ebble, Wylye, and Bourne are tributary to the Hampshire Avon, which flows to the south coast and into the sea at Christchurch in Dorset. Salisbury railway station serves the city and is a regional interchange, Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about 8 miles northwest of Salisbury and greatly aids the local economy. The city itself, Old Sarum, the present cathedral and the ruins of the one also attract visitors. The first part of the name is of obscure origin, the form Sarum is a Latinization of Sar, a medieval abbreviation for Sarisberie. Salisbury appeared in the Welsh Chronicle of the Britons as Caer-Caradog, Caer-Gradawc, cair-Caratauc, one of the 28 British cities listed in the History of the Britons, has also been identified with Salisbury. The hilltop at Old Sarum lies near the Neolithic sites of Stonehenge and Avebury and it commanded a salient between the River Bourne and the Hampshire Avon near a crossroads of several early trade routes. During the Iron Age, a hillfort was constructed around it sometime between 600 and 300 BC, the Romans may have occupied the site or left it in the hands of an allied tribe. Amid the Saxon invasions, Old Sarum fell to King Cynric of Wessex in 552, preferring settlements in bottomland like nearby Wilton, the Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum until the Viking invasions led King Alfred to restore its fortifications. Along with Wilton, however, it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the Dano-Norwegian king Sweyn Forkbeard in 1003 and it subsequently became the site of Wiltons mint. Following the Norman invasion, a castle was constructed by 1070. The castle was directly by the Norman kings, its castellan was generally also the sheriff of Wiltshire. Hermann and his successor Saint Osmund began the construction of the first Salisbury cathedral, the cathedral was consecrated on 5 April 1092 but suffered extensive damage in a storm, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later. Bishop Roger was an ally of Henry I who served as his viceroy during the kings absence to Normandy and directed the royal administration. He refurbished and expanded Old Sarums cathedral in the 1110s and began work on a palace during the 1130s

20.
Ossification
–
Ossification in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells called osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation, heterotopic ossification is a process resulting in the formation of bone tissue that is often atypical, at an extraskeletal location. Calcification is often confused with ossification, calcification is synonymous with the formation of calcium-based salts and crystals within cells and tissue. It is a process that occurs during ossification, but not vice versa, the exact mechanisms by which bone development is triggered remains unclear, but it involves growth factors and cytokines in some way. Intramembranous ossification forms the bones of the skull, clavicle and mandible. Endochondral ossification is the formation of bones and other bones. This requires a hyaline cartilage precursor, there are two centres of ossification for endochondral ossification. The primary centre In long bones, bone tissue first appears in the diaphysis, cartilage is progressively eroded and replaced by hardened bone, extending towards the epiphysis. The nutrient artery enters via the nutrient foramen from an opening in the diaphysis. It invades the primary centre of ossification, bringing osteogenic cells The canal of the nutrient foramen is directed away from more active end of bone when one end more than the other. When bone grows at same rate at both ends, the nutrient artery is perpendicular to the bone, most other bones also have primary ossification centres, and bone is laid down in a similar manner. Secondary centres The secondary centres generally appear at the epiphysis, secondary ossification mostly occurs after birth. The epiphyseal arteries and osteogenic cells invade the epiphysis, depositing osteoblasts and osteoclasts which erode the cartilage and this occurs at both ends of long bones but only one end of digits and ribs. Several hypotheses have proposed for how bone evolved as a structural element in vertebrates. One hypothesis is that developed from tissues that evolved to store minerals. Specifically, calcium-based minerals were stored in cartilage and bone was a development from this calcified cartilage. However, other possibilities include bony tissue evolving as an osmotic barrier, or as a protective structure

Ossification
–
Primary center of ossification, or Growth Plate.
Ossification
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Bone is broken down by osteoclasts, and rebuilt by osteoblasts, both of which communicate through cytokine (TGF-β, IGF) signalling.

21.
Navicular
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The navicular bone /nəˈvɪkjᵿlər/ is a small bone found in the feet of most mammals. The navicular bone in humans is one of the tarsal bones and its name derives from the human bones resemblance to a small boat, caused by the strongly concave proximal articular surface. The term navicular bone or hand navicular bone was used for the scaphoid bone, one of the carpal bones of the wrist. The navicular bone in humans is located on the side of the foot. The tibialis posterior is the muscle that attaches to the navicular bone. The main portion of the muscle inserts into the tuberosity of the navicular bone, an accessory navicular bone may be present in 2–14% of the general population. The human navicular is not a broken bone. The horse has a bone called the navicular bone, located within the hoof. The navicular bone in the horse is supported by the distal sesamoidean impar ligament, the navicular bursa is located between the flexor surface of the navicular bone and the deep digital flexor tendon, which runs between the bursa and the distal phalanx. Recently much of the literature concerning navicular disease has been called into question. Navicular syndrome may be responsible for as much as 1/3 of all cases of lameness in horses, newer imaging techniques have shown that damage to the soft tissues in the region may be significant contributors to lameness and that multiple causes may result in visible lameness. Bone terminology Terms for anatomical location Equine forelimb anatomy 3D printable navicular bone model, free download in STL format

22.
Tarsus (skeleton)
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In tetrapods, the tarsus is a cluster of seven articulating bones in each foot situated between the lower end of tibia and fibula of the lower leg and the metatarsus. The tarsus articulates with the bones of the metatarsus, which in turn articulate with the phalanges of the toes. The joint between the tibia and fibula above and the tarsus below is referred to as the ankle joint, in humans the largest bone in the tarsus is the calcaneus, which is the weight-bearing bone within the heel of the foot. Together, the talus and calcaneus form the hindfoot, the five irregular bones of the midfoot—the cuboid, navicular, and three cuneiform bones—form the arches of the foot which serves as a shock absorber. The midfoot is connected to the hind- and forefoot by muscles, the complex motion of the subtalar joint occurs in three planes and produces subtalar inversion and eversion. Along with the tarsal joint, the subtalar joint transforms tibial rotation into forefoot supination and pronation. The axis of rotation in the joint is directed upward 42 degrees from the plane and 16 degrees medially from the midline of the foot. However, together, the subtalar facets form a screw or Archimedean spiral, right-handed in the right foot, so, during subtalar inversion, the calcaneus also rotates clockwise and translates forward along the axis of the screw. Average subtalar motion is 20-30 degrees inversion and 5-10 degrees eversion, functional motion during the gait cycle is 10-15 degrees. The talonavicular and calcaneocuboid joints form the so-called transverse tarsal joint or Choparts joint and it has two axes of motion. Inversion and eversion occur about an axis oriented 15 degrees upward from the horizontal plane and 9 degrees medially from the longitudinal axis of the foot. Flexion and extension occur primarily about an axis oriented 52 degrees upward from the horizontal plane and 57 degrees anteromedially. In vitro talonavicular motion is 7 degrees flexion-extension and 17 degrees pronation-supination, the motions of the subtalar and transverse talar joints interact to make the foot either flexible or rigid. With the subtalar joint in eversion, the two joints of the joint are parallel, which make movements in this joint possible. With the subtalar joint in inversion, the axes of the joint are convergent, movements in this joint are thus locked. In primitive tetrapods, such as Trematops, the tarsus consists of three rows of bones, there are three proximal tarsals, the tibiale, intermedium, and fibulare, named for their points of articulation with the bones of the lower limb. These are followed by a row of four bones, referred to as the centralia. In the great majority of tetrapods, including all of those alive today, in reptiles and mammals, there are normally just two proximal tarsals, the calcaneus and the talus

23.
Stonehenge Archer
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The Stonehenge Archer is the name given to a Bronze Age man whose body was discovered in the outer ditch of Stonehenge. Unlike most burials in the Stonehenge Landscape, his body was not in a barrow, examination of the skeleton indicated that the man was local to the area and aged about 30 when he died. Radiocarbon dating suggests that he died around 2300 BCE, making his death roughly contemporary with the Amesbury Archer and he came to be known as an archer because of the stone wrist-guard and a number of flint arrowheads buried with him. In fact, several of the tips were located in the skeletons bones. His body was excavated in 1978 by Richard Atkinson and John G. Evans who had been re-examining an older trench in the ditch and his remains are now housed in the Salisbury Museum in Salisbury

Stonehenge Archer
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Displayed in the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum

24.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker

International Standard Book Number
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A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an EAN-13 bar code

25.
English Heritage
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English Heritage is a registered charity that manages the National Heritage Collection. This comprises over 400 of Englands historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning more than 5,000 years of history, within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrians Wall. English Heritage also manages the London Blue Plaques scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings and it was created to combine the roles of existing bodies that had emerged from a long period of state involvement in heritage protection. The British government gave the new charity an £80 million grant to establish it as an independent trust. Over the centuries, what is now called Heritage has been the responsibility of a series of state departments. There was the Kings Works after the Norman Conquest, the Office of Works, the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues and Works, and the Ministry of Works. Responsibility subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Public Building and Works then to the Department of the Environment and now the Department for Culture, Media, the states legal responsibility for the historic environment goes back to the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882. Central government subsequently developed several systems of protection for different types of assets, introducing listing for buildings after WW2. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission was formed under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983 on 1 April 1984, soon after, the commission gained the operating name of English Heritage by its first Chairman, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. A national register of parks and gardens, was set up in 1984. Registration is a consideration in the planning process. In 2010–2011 it recorded 4.3 million unique online user sessions, in 2012 the section responsible for archive collections was renamed the English Heritage Archive. As a result of the National Heritage Act 2002, English Heritage acquired administrative responsibility for historic wrecks, the administration of the listed building system was transferred from DCMS to English Heritage in 2006. It was retained on grounds of performing a function which should remain independent from Government. However the department also suffered from budget cuts during the recession of the 2010s resulting in a deficit of £100 million. In June 2013 the British Government announced plans to provide an £80 million grant to enable English Heritage to become a self-financing charity, the national portfolio of historic properties remain in public ownership, but the new English Heritage will be licensed to manage them. The change occurred on 1 April 2015 with the planning and heritage protection functions remaining an independent, non-departmental public body. The new trust has a licence to operate the properties until 2023, English Heritage is the guardian of over 400 sites and monuments, the most famous of which include Stonehenge, Iron Bridge and Dover Castle

English Heritage
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English Heritage commemorative plaques conference, 2010. English Heritage began administering the London Blue Plaques in 1986.
English Heritage
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English Heritage's logo
English Heritage
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Stonehenge, one of English Heritage's most famous sites
English Heritage
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Stonehenge visitors' centre. Opened in December 2013, over 2 km west of the monument, just off the A360 road in Wiltshire.

26.
Julian Richards
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Julian Richards FSA, MIFA is a British television and radio presenter, writer and archaeologist with over 30 years experience of fieldwork and publication. Richards was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, between 1975 and 1980, he worked for the Berkshire Archaeological Unit, helping to build the county Sites and Monuments Record. He excavated and carried out a survey of the Berkshire Downs, in 1980 he joined the new group Wessex Archaeology, based in Salisbury. He ran the Stonehenge Environs Project, a study of Stonehenge. This gave him his first experience of the media, where he contributed parts to programmes about Stonehenge, with fellow project managers Peter Cox and John Hawkes from Wessex Archaeology, Richards started AC Archaeology in 1991. This was an independent organisation, still based in Wiltshire. After three years Richards left the world of archaeology and joined English Heritage to work on its Monuments Protection Programme. Returning to his roots in fieldwork, he inspected sites and prepared reports on the protection of important archaeological sites in Wiltshire, Hampshire, shortly after joining the MPP, Richards was asked to contribute to a TV programme about the construction of Stonehenge. His ideas led eventually to the programme Meet the Ancestors, Meet the Ancestors was commissioned in late 1996. In the spring of 1997 Richards took a leave from English Heritage to work on it. He resigned his day job to work full-time in broadcasting and writing when a series was commissioned. As of 2005 he has presented six series of Meet the Ancestors, in addition, he has written books to accompany both series. For Radio 4 he has presented series of Mapping the Town. Richards is also responsible for creating two site-interactive games, Hunt the Ancestor and Viking Quest, for the BBC History website and he has also been a regular contributor to the BBC History website and magazine. He also received a British Archaeological Award for the programme Chariot Queen, on his personal website he also notes receiving a Blue Peter badge. In 2007 he published Stonehenge, The story so far, other works include Stonehenge, a history in photographs and The amazing pop-up Stonehenge. Richards lives with his family in Shaftesbury, Dorset where he maintains his special interest in the prehistory of Wessex and he is patron of the Friends of Cromford Canal

Julian Richards
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Julian Richards in 2002

27.
Time Team
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Time Team is a British television series that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. The specialists changed throughout the series, although it consistently included professional archaeologists such as Mick Aston, Carenza Lewis, Francis Pryor, the sites excavated ranged in date from the Palaeolithic to the Second World War. In October 2012, Channel 4 announced that the series would be broadcast in 2013. Series 20 was screened from January–March 2013 and nine specials were screened between May 2013 and September 2014, a team of archaeologists, usually led by Mick Aston or Francis Pryor, including field archaeologist Phil Harding, congregate at a site, usually in Britain. Time Team uncover as much as they can of the archaeology and he tries to ensure that everything is comprehensible to the archaeologically uninitiated. Excavations are not just carried out to entertain viewers, Time Team developed from an earlier Channel 4 series, Time Signs, first broadcast in 1991. Produced by Taylor, Time Signs had featured Aston and Harding, following that shows cancellation, Taylor went on to develop a more attractive format, producing the idea for Time Team, which Channel 4 also picked up, broadcasting the first series in 1994. Time Team has had many shows during its run, including Time Team Extra, History Hunters and Time Team Digs. The series features special episodes, often documentaries on history or archaeology, Time Team America, a US version of the programme, was broadcast on PBS in 2009 and co-produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting and Videotext/C4i. The programme has been exported to 35 other countries, in February 2012, it was announced that Aston had quit the show due to format changes. The disputed changes included hiring a model as a co-presenter, dispensing with other archaeologists. The time had come to leave, I never made any money out of it, but a lot of my soul went into it. I feel really, really angry about it, Time Team producer Tim Taylor released a statement in response to the news reports saying His concerns are of great importance to me. We have addressed some of them and that you’ve not heard the last of Mick on Time Team, robin Bush, historian was a regular in the first nine series, having been involved with the programme through his long friendship with Mick Aston. In 2005, Carenza Lewis left to other interests. She was replaced by Helen Geake, Anglo-Saxon specialist, architectural historian Beric Morley featured in ten episodes between 1995 and 2002. The team is supplemented by experts appropriate for the period and type of site, guy de la Bédoyère has often been present for Roman digs, as well as those involving the Second World War such as D-Day and aircraft. Architectural historian Jonathan Foyle has appeared in episodes relating to excavations of country estates, Paul Blinkhorn, Mark Corney, Danielle Wootton and Jackie McKinley have appeared from time to time

28.
Channel 4
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Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2 November 1982. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital on 31 March 2010, before Channel 4 and S4C, Britain had three terrestrial television services, BBC1, BBC2, and ITV. The Broadcasting Act 1980 began the process of adding a fourth, after some months of test broadcasts, it began scheduled transmissions on 2 November 1982. Indeed, television sets throughout the 1970s and early 1980s had a spare channel called ITV/IBA2. It was most likely politics which had the biggest impact in leading to a delay of almost three decades before the commercial channel became a reality. The campaign was taken so seriously by Gwynfor Evans, former president of Plaid Cymru, the result was that Channel 4 as seen by the rest of the United Kingdom would be replaced in Wales by Sianel Pedwar Cymru. Operated by a specially created authority, S4C would air programmes in Welsh made by HTV, since then, carriage on digital cable, satellite and digital terrestrial has introduced Channel 4 to Welsh homes where it is now universally available. The first programme to air on the channel was the game show Countdown. The first person to be seen on Channel 4 was Richard Whiteley with Ted Moult being the second, the first woman on the channel, contrary to popular belief, was not Carol Vorderman and was a lexicographer only ever identified as Mary. Whiteley opened the show with the words, On its first day, Channel 4 also broadcast controversial soap opera Brookside, which ran until 2003. On its launch, Channel 4 committed itself to providing an alternative to the existing channels, Channel 4 co-commissioned Robert Ashleys ground-breaking television opera Perfect Lives, which it premiered over several episodes in 1984. The channel often did not receive mass audiences for much of period, however. Channel 4 for many years had a poorer quality signal compared to other channels, Channel 4 also began the funding of independent films, such as the Merchant-Ivory docudrama The Courtesans of Bombay, during this time. In 1992, Channel 4 also faced its first libel case by Jani Allan, a South African journalist, who objected to her representation in the documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Drivers Wife. After control of the station passed from the Channel Four Television Company to the Channel Four Television Corporation in 1993, instead of aiming for the fringes of society, it began to focus on the edges of the mainstream, and the centre of the mass market itself. It began to show many US programmes in peak viewing time and it gave such shows as Friends and ER their UK premières. In the early 2000s, Channel 4 began broadcasting reality formats such as Big Brother and obtained the rights to broadcast mass appeal sporting events like cricket and this new direction increased ratings and revenues. In addition, the corporation launched a number of new channels through its new 4Ventures offshoot, including Film4, At the Races, E4